While the main options for the program are very good, they become amazing if they are combined with Trapcode’s Particular, which generates a variety of different particle streams that KLF can interract with either passively or dynamically. Passive uses include creating the central core of fireworks in the night sky, whereas dynamic uses a part of KLF called Knoll Light Factory Spectacular that creates sparkles on particles, which can yield a colorful explosive or twinkling background for motion graphics and titles. In fact, Particular’s interaction with KLF is so good that it’s a core part of the KLF Pro training that Red Giant creates. I really hope that, now that Red Giant has partnered with Trapcode, that there will be a combo package featuring both plugins. (That might also bring down the price of buying the two separately.) Especially since competitors like VisionLab Studio offer both a flare package and particle package in a single unit.
Performance
The crystalline radiance for the flares and reflects in KLF Pro is clean and clear, with a more jewel-like tone than some of the other light-flare competitors. Additionally, the presets that it includes are more complex and visually pleasing than many of the other competitors and the rendering is actually surprisingly fast. (On one of our lower end test machines, we compared a 10 second clip with KLF Pro 2.5 in Premiere Pro 2 and a 10 second clip in VisionLab Studio. The 10 second clip took about three minutes to render in KLF Pro 2.5 on Premiere Pro and about 21 minutes with VLS.)
Value
For what it does, Knoll Light Factory Pro does a really nice job at a decent price. However, with some of it’s most spectacular uses requiring Trapcode’s Particular particle-generation software (which costs another $300), Knoll is starting to lose ground to some of the other visual effects packages, like VisionLab Studio, that includes many of the light flare capabilities of Knoll and the particle generating abilities of Particular for just a little over $500.
Of course, you can get the new Knoll Light Factory Editors for half the price of Pro, but you lose all the ability to combine your own custom primitives to create unique flares. Instead you have only the 70 presets to work with, which may be fine for many users, but folks who want to create more customized looks are going to need Pro. (The Editors version also lacks the Light Factory Spectacular features that allows interaction between Light Factory and the particle generation of Trapcode’s Particular.)
Final Comments
2.5 offers an additional 30 light presets from what 2.0 did and the Pro version continues to allow you to custom tweak those presets through the lens features. The polish and finesse of Knoll Light Factory still looks good, but reliance on other plugins for some of the coolest effects and an increasingly competitive market are making Knoll Light Factory Pro a less black and white decision. Still, with a crystal clear results, fast rendering, and interaction with both common editing programs like Final Cut Pro and motion graphics-focused packages like After Effects, you definitely should download the demo of this package and check it out.
